The connection between the formation of galaxies and that of their central supermassive black holes.

Massive black holes appear to be an essential ingredient of massive galactic bulges but little is known yet to what extent massive black holes reside in dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. Massive black holes most likely grow by a mixture of merging and accretion of gas in their hierarchically merging host galaxies. While the hierarchical merging of dark matter structures extends to sub-galactic scales and very high redshift, it is uncertain if the same is true for the build-up of massive black holes. I discuss here some of the relevant problems and open questions.